


Garden of Marble

by yikeslikenikes



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blindfolds, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Exile, Falling In Love, Hunting, Intercrural Sex, M/M, Mentions of an Attempted Human Sacrifice, Mirrors, One Shot, People turning to stone, Smut, Temple, Touch-Starved, gorgon-like creatures, lots of soft moments, mentions of an unspecified religion, yes this is a Medusa au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-10 12:54:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20528360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yikeslikenikes/pseuds/yikeslikenikes
Summary: No one ever said what exactly had made the temple its home, but Minhyuk had heard plenty of rumors.





	Garden of Marble

**Author's Note:**

> All it took was one picture of curly-haired Hyungwon, and then this happened.

_ The clothes on your back, one dagger, and your life. Quite the gift, all things considered.  _

It was the blackest part of night when they ripped the blindfold off of Minhyuk's face. So dark, he almost cried out, fearing that he had gone blind. Not that he would have had time to cry out. 

A foot in the center of his back promptly kicked him forward, landing him face down in dirt. 

_ Dirt. A bit of grass. _

“Good riddance, thief. Oh, and here’s your dagger.”

Minhyuk flinched as he heard the dagger get stabbed into the ground next to his head. 

And then it was just the laughter of men who had sheer power over someone else. It echoed out into the night, and then back into his skull. It didn't leave him until they and their horses and their howling was far away. 

Only then did he push himself up out of the dirt, grabbing onto the handle of the dagger and pulling it out of the ground. 

“I’m not a thief,” he said softly.

Not a thief, but treated more cruelly than one. As his eyes adjusted to the dark around him, he wished they had taken his hand instead. At least then he could have lived. He could survive. 

Here, there was no survival, and Minhyuk had known his death was imminent the moment that the cruel tiny prince had smiled and given him a sentence for a crime he didn't commit. 

Banishment, Minhyuk might have dealt with. He could have picked up the language of a neighboring country, found a new master to serve, a new life. 

But not this. Not being banished to the abandoned temple on Hallasan. 

Minhyuk gripped at his dagger as he curled up on the cold ground to sleep. There was not much else he could do. The clothes on his back were already worn, the chill of each breeze easily cutting through it, and Minhyuk should have been terrified of the cold in his bones, or the animals nearby, but he was only scared of one thing.

The reason the temple was abandoned. 

He didn't know how he willed his body to sleep, but he took solace in what felt like his first and last reprieve here. 

He woke at first light, tired, chilled through, hands cramped from the dagger. At first, he was disoriented not waking up in his cell, and then he remembered his fate all over again. 

He sat bolt upright and took a deep breath before he dared to look around. 

At least it was summer and he would not freeze to death at night. And there seemed to still be life in the forest, the birds chirping, and the sounds of small animals hopping through brush. 

He focused on the forest in front of him, refusing to look at the temple behind him. 

No one ever said what exactly had made the temple its home, but Minhyuk had heard plenty of rumors. That the only way to kill it was to slice off its head in one swoop. That one look at it would end in death. That the few people that survived its appearance ran far far away and never turned back. 

That it would surely be the death of Minhyuk. That it was definitely meant to be the death of him. That Minhyuk was terrified of being killed by it. 

But there wasn't time to think about that. There was a hunger in his belly that needed to be addressed, and a thirst in his throat that was only getting worse as the seconds ticked by. He pushed himself up, turning his dagger over and over again in his palm as he walked further into the forest, following the trees and the sounds until he found a stream. 

He sighed as he sank down next to it and leaned down to cup water and bring it to his lips. 

It tasted clear and cool, and Minhyuk thanked whatever gods there were for letting him at least have this. After drinking his fill, he followed the stream up, plucking whatever plants and roots he recognized as edible and dropping them into the stream to clean them before popping them into his mouth. When he found a blackberry bush, he could've cried as he carefully started cutting through the thorny leaves to get to the berries. 

Finding food made him feel calmer. Calm enough to look around and realize he had wandered closer to the temple again. 

The calm didn't last much longer past that. 

As soon as he realized it, he looked back at his berry bush, determined not to look up, and then he heard it. Footsteps. Not of a rabbit or other woodland creature. It sounded almost human. 

“Where’s your sword?”

Minhyuk shut his eyes and covered his head, and he knew he was trembling. 

“Did you drop it?”

He had expected a terrible growling noise. Something inhuman. The voice that spoke, however, was very human. Disarmingly so. 

It didn't speak again, though, so Minhyuk assumed it was waiting for an answer. 

“No sword,” Minhyuk said softly. 

“You expect me to believe that?”

Minhyuk swallowed. “I do have a dagger, though.”

A little huff.  _ A laugh? _

“Did they not tell you before you boldly came up here? A dagger wouldn't kill me.”

“I...I didn't come to kill you,” Minhyuk said. 

Silence. Then a soft little laugh. 

“I've never encountered this strategy before. Do you mean to lull me into a false sense of safety?”

Minhyuk shook his head, eyes still pressed shut. 

“Then what brings you to my temple?”

Minhyuk squeezed his hand around the hilt of his dagger. Heard the prince’s voice echo in his head. Heard the laughter of his guards. 

“I was sent here to die,” Minhyuk whispered out. 

It was silent again, and that started unnerving Minhyuk more than the soft almost tired voice of the thing in the temple. 

Footsteps coming closer, and then there was a heat against Minhyuk's back, and he dropped his dagger to cover his eyes with his hands. 

“Do you want to die?” The voice whispered against the shell of his ear, and Minhyuk could barely hold in a whimper. 

“If so, it could be easy. All you'd have to do is turn around and open your eyes. You wouldn't even notice, it’d happen so fast.”

“No! No. I didn't...I didn't come because I wanted to,” Minhyuk said. 

He didn't know why he was explaining anything at all to this thing. It didn't deserve an explanation.  _ And yet… _

“My...my prince banished me here. I gave him so much, and he still sent me here to die for his own amusement.”

Silence, again. 

A breath. Two, three. 

“If you go to the temple, there are better clothes, and bows and arrows to hunt with,” the voice said gently. 

In his confusion, Minhyuk opened his eyes for a moment before slamming them shut again. 

“I thought...you’d kill me,” Minhyuk said. 

“You won't die if you don't look directly into my eyes. If you don't touch the swords, I'll leave you alone.”

“The swords?”

A chuckle then, soft and almost musical against the back of his head. 

“Don't try to hurt me, and I won't hurt you.”

And then the warmth was gone, and the footsteps were walking away. When it was silent except for the stream, Minhyuk opened his eyes again, letting himself shiver. He picked up his dagger again and stared at it, seeing if he could see anything in it's reflection. 

When he couldn't find anything in it, he let himself actually look around at the empty forest. 

Maybe he could survive this punishment after all. 

The temple was haunted, but not by whatever creature had given Minhyuk a reprieve. It was haunted by the statues of warriors that had come to try to claim its life. Their eyes seemed to follow Minhyuk as he moved through the marble, picking through their unchanged clothes and weapons. 

He was a grave robber, but he couldn't survive on thin cloth and a dagger alone forever. He stole from stone and tried not to think about how they became that way. 

Minhyuk didn't seek out the voice that had granted him new life, but he heeded it carefully. He didn't even come close to touching the many swords strewn about the temple as he swooped over any other possessions he could find like a vulture. 

Soon, he had amassed a decent collection of clothing and fabric, a bow, three quiverfuls of arrows, and, maybe most importantly, a small polished mirror. 

_ If I look at you through a mirror, would I still turn into stone? _

All in all, life at the temple was not as terrible as it was meant to be. Minhyuk slept warm at night with a fire by him, ate rabbits and berries, and drank cool water from the stream. 

If he ever heard footsteps, he would duck down and cover his eyes until everything went silent again. 

Loneliness crept up on him when he least expected it. Whenever he stared up at the stars at night, or when he would hide under parts of the broken ceiling when it stormed, or whenever he took the time to actually look at the statues around them. 

He would speak a lot to the open sky, to the forest, to the air around him. He’d hum and sing and tap beats out against his thighs to fill the emptiness. When he announced himself, though, it was always to the creature. 

_ I’m going to the stream. To the blackberry bush. To the wildflowers.  _

_ I'm coming back to the temple. To my space. To the shrine.  _

He hoped it gave enough warning if the creature wanted to avoid him. Another tinier part hoped that it would help the creature come speak to him again. 

Death must be quiet, Minhyuk figured. Especially a death that was so inherently silent. Turned to stone, not even a scream etched on any of the many lips Minhyuk saw. Death slunk around the temple and the forest and only left quiet footsteps in its wake, but it wasn't omnipresent. It wasn't heavy. 

It wasn't the worst existence, but it left Minhyuk alone with his thoughts, and he had never enjoyed that. He had served under someone his entire life, thoughts always on something else, someone else. He had told stories and jokes and sang quiet lullabies and  _ been someone _ . 

Here, he was no one. He didn't even have a name. 

It was that thought that spurred Minhyuk into seeking out the supposedly evil creature that had ruined the temple. An evil creature who at this point seemed even lonelier than Minhyuk. A legend without a proper name and face. 

Dagger and mirror in hand, he set off, determined to find someone to talk to. 

“You’ve been calling for me.”

Minhyuk froze from where he was splashing water in his face to clean it. He didn't turn around, but he sat up slowly, closing his eyes. 

“I have,” Minhyuk said. 

“Why?”

It had been a few weeks since Minhyuk had started calling out to the creature of the temple, though it was hard without a name. It had just been greetings. A questioning hello here and there. 

He had never gotten a response. 

“If we’re going to be living together, I think we should know each other's names,” Minhyuk said. 

A huff.  _ Definitely a laugh.  _

“You wish to know my name?” The voice was so soft it melted into something warm against Minhyuk's spine. He had almost forgotten how nice it was. 

“Yes. My name is Minhyuk. Lee Minhyuk.”

There's comfort in silence, but not in this one. This silence is dark behind Minhyuk’s eyelids and whirling in his mind. 

“It's been a long time since anyone has called me by my name.”

Minhyuk sighed and nodded, eyes still closed. 

“I will if you want me to,” Minhyuk said. 

A beat. 

“Hyungwon. My name is Hyungwon.”

Minhyuk smiled, turned his head down. 

“Nice to officially meet you, Hyungwon.”

“It’s...nice to meet you, too, Minhyuk.”

“You know, for obvious reasons, no one knows what you look like.”

Hyungwon hummed softly. An acknowledgement. 

“It’s strange. Speaking to someone I've never seen,” Minhyuk said. 

“If you're so curious, use the mirror you carry.”

Minhyuk opened his eyes and glanced down at his side. 

“I won't turn to stone?” He asked. 

“A mirror is not direct eye contact.”

Minhyuk shuddered out a breath as he reached down to grab his mirror and held it up against his chest. 

“You’re not lying.”

Another little laugh. This time a bit more amused. 

“You haven't tried to kill me. I have no reason to try to kill you.”

Minhyuk licked his lips and held the mirror up, moving it around a bit until he found Hyungwon in the reflection. 

The boy that looked back was not at all what Minhyuk was expecting. 

There was nothing insane about him. He was tall and thin, almost lanky. His face was small and round and sweet, and his lips were fascinating, puffy and large but not disproportionately so. When Minhyuk dared to look at his eyes, they were large under his long curly hair and dark brown. Nothing terrifying at all about him. 

Minhyuk would even call him beautiful. Ethereally so. Like a statue of a god. 

Hyungwon raised a brow in the reflection. 

“See? You didn't turn to stone,” he said in that soft little voice that actually fit him perfectly now that Minhyuk knew what he looked like. 

“You’re beautiful,” Minhyuk said. 

He hadn't meant to say that out loud, but when he saw Hyungwon’s round cheeks flush, he decided he didn't regret it. 

Hyungwon shifted his weight a bit between his bare feet. 

“No one has looked at me this long in ages,” he said. 

Minhyuk dropped his mirror down to his lap again, and then Hyungwon was gone. 

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I'm sorry,” Minhyuk said. 

“You must be very lonely,” Hyungwon said. 

A shard of cold exploded into Minhyuk's veins. He tried to laugh it away, but it lingered around the edges of his chest. 

“Why would you say that?”

“No one would seek out a monster unless they were utterly alone.”

Minhyuk frowned. The young man he had seen in his mirror was not a monster. Not anywhere close. 

“Can you control it?” Minhyuk asked. 

“The turning to stone?” Hyungwon asked. 

“Yes.”

“No, I can't,” Hyungwon answered quietly. 

Minhyuk shrugged. “You can't be a monster for something you can't stop.”

“Tell that to my garden of marble.”

Minhyuk snorted, looking down at the stream. “It sounds like they came to attack you first, though.”

“That is true.”

Minhyuk would like to believe that he could hear a smile in Hyungwon's voice. 

“Do you think we could talk? Be friends?” Minhyuk asked. 

A pause. “Be friends?”

“Yes! I miss talking to someone. Interacting with someone.” Minhyuk licked his lips and cleared his throat. “Don't...don’t you? Get lonely?” 

Hyungwon didn’t answer that. 

“Keep announcing where you're going, so you don't accidentally see me. I’ll call out if I'm coming, so you can close your eyes until it’s safe,” Hyungwon said

“I can do that,” Minhyuk said. 

“Good. I'll leave now, so you can get up. Goodbye, Minhyuk.”

“Goodbye, Hyungwon.”

The footsteps were still quiet as they retreated away into nothing. Minhyuk used his mirror to glance around to see that Hyungwon was gone before he fell back into the grass and stared up at the clouds past the treetops. 

Something inside of him felt softer than it ever had before. 

The temple was still haunted, but Minhyuk chose to look past it. Hyungwon was still death, but death wasn't silent anymore. Death actually talked and laughed quite often around corners and behind Minhyuk’s shoulder. Death was kind and gave Minhyuk gifts of freshly caught birds and a warning when a storm was coming. Death looked like an angel fallen to earth, black curls falling all around his face and pink lips and dark brown eyes. 

Not that Minhyuk ever looked. Not really. He looked at reflections in his mirror. Him but not really him. 

Hyungwon but not Death. 

“Do you sleep? I've never seen you sleep,” Minhyuk said one day. He was stoking a fire to cook himself dinner. He didn't know exactly where Hyungwon was, but he wasn't in the same space. Close enough to hear, but not close enough to see. 

“You've never seen me do much of anything,” came Hyungwon’s reply. Minhyuk looked around because he knew Hyungwon wouldn't be close enough to be seen. Minhyuk had taken up residence in the inner sanctum of the temple. It had four walls, a roof, a vent, and a door, but no windows. It kept cool during the day but warm during the nights, and Minhyuk found that he quite liked it. If he was there, Hyungwon might have been leaned up against the outside wall, listening, talking. 

“You didn’t answer my question,” Minhyuk said. He stood up, picking up the handled pot that he had prepared a rabbit stew in. He moved it to its place over the fire before settling back down onto the cushion he had fashioned himself out of his old clothes and rabbit fur. 

“I don’t sleep. I also don’t eat. I don’t do anything at all,” Hyngwon’s voice said. 

Minhyuk frowned. He found he did that a lot whenever Hyungwon talked about himself. 

“You never feel hungry or tired?”

“No. Then again, I’ve never tried to sleep or eat,” Hyungwon said. 

Minhyuk moves back against the wall next to the door and uses his mirror to check where Hyungwon is. He’s sitting on the opposite side of the wall Minhyuk was pressed up against, curled up and smiling at Minhyuk’s reflection. Putting his mirror down, Minhyuk moved closer to the doorway.

“You could eat some of the stew when it’s done,” Minhyuk said. 

“You need to eat, though. I don’t want to take your food.”

“I’m certainly not starving. I actually eat pretty well.”

There was a beat. 

“Just a taste, then,” Hyungwon said. 

Minhyuk smiled, leaning back against the stone wall. He kept thinking about that first time when he could feel how warm Hyungwon was against his back. Feel his voice against the shell of his ear. 

Hyungwon had never gotten that close again, but Minhyuk wished he had. Wished he would. 

“I’ve been wondering about something,” Hyungwon said. 

“What?”

“When we first met, you said you were sent here to die for the prince’s amusement.”

Minhyuk swallowed. “Yes?”

“They couldn’t have just let him send you off, could they? I thought people still tried to be...just.”

The fire crackled, and it felt loud in the silence that followed. 

“I don’t think people were ever just,” Minhyuk said softly. 

“I never said they were. Just that they tried.”

“They thought they were being just. The prince dropped some of his gold into the chest in my room and claimed I had stolen it.”

“That’s terribly cruel of him,” Hyungwon muttered, but it still reached Minhyuk’s ears. He laughed a bit. 

“I thought he had liked me. He was a spoiled brat, but he never once tried to hurt me. And then this happened. I guess he was waiting to give me the harshest of his punishments.”

“How stupid of him.”

Minhyuk cocked his head and wished he could look at Hyungwon again. Wished that there wasn’t a wall between them. Wished they could have a normal conversation. 

“Cruel and stupid. How else are you going to slander him?” Minhyuk asked. 

Hyungwon laughed then. Short little bursts that made Minhyuk smile so wide his cheeks ached. 

“If he’s as sadistic as you say, he would want to see the fruits of his labor,” Hyungwon mused. 

“Oh?”

“He probably wants to see what you look like all made up in stone.”

Minhyuk felt himself quiver, thinking of it. How the prince was probably trying to convince his guards to come collect his statue. 

“He probably does.”

“I hope he comes,” Hyungwon said. 

The stew started bubbling, and Minhyuk got up to go stir it. 

“You do?” Minhyuk asked. 

There was what Minhyuk thought was a soft little hum, and he wondered if Hyungwon was smiling. 

“I’d love to add him to the garden,” Hyungwon said. 

Minhyuk’s jaw dropped, but the stew started bubbling. He pushed himself up to stir it, still slightly in shock. 

“Why?” Minhyuk asked once he regained some composure. 

“Because there’s maybe only one statue here that ever deserved it. Even he needs company.”

The stew boiled as Minhyuk sat back down. 

“Only one?”

“I can’t blame knights that want to slay monsters.”

Minhyuk ignored that statement. 

“But who is the one?”

Bubbling was the only noise that filled the room. Bubbling and the fire crackling. It was so quiet that Minhyuk wondered if Hyungwon had just left. He picked up his mirror again and leaned on his side to peek around the corner. 

Hyungwon stared off at a spot in front of him, deep in thought, but he hadn’t left. 

“Hyungwon?”

When Hyungwon glanced over at the mirror, his big eyes were tearing up, and Minhyuk frowned. 

“Forget I asked. I didn’t mean to bring up something that hurts you,” Minhyuk said. 

Hyungwon shook his head and rubbed at his eyes. Minhyuk couldn’t believe that he thought of himself as a monster. He was so gentle and kind and sweet. He wouldn’t even speak ill of the men that had come to kill him.

“I wish I could comfort you,” Minhyuk said softly. Hyungwon laughed at that. One short chuckle. 

“I’d never let you. You’re the last person I ever want to add to my collection,” Hyungwon said. 

Minhyuk stared at his reflection before making up his mind. He moved closer to the door until he was sitting with his back against the frame. 

“What are you doing?” Hyungwon asked, his voice going panicked. 

“I won't look. I'll stay right here,” Minhyuk said. He stared ahead at the thin wall in front of him, and held his hand out behind him. 

Seconds ticked by. The stew bubbled. And then Hyungwon’s fingers grazed over Minhyuk’s palm. Minhyuk gently closed his hand over Hyungwon’s and held it.

It was silent again as Hyungwon took Minhyuk's hand back, his fingers wrapping around Minhyuk’s fingers.

Hyungwon’s hand was large and warm in Minhyuk’s, but Minhyuk squeezed it tighter when he realized it was trembling.

“Why are you shaking?” Minhyuk asked. He rubbed his thumb against Hyungwon's smooth hand. 

Hyungwon sniffed a bit, and he squeezed Minhyuk's hand tighter. 

“I just...it's been a long time since someone has touched me.”

Something in Minhyuk's chest ached at how soft Hyungwon sounded. He moved their clasped hands out next to him in a more comfortable position, but he didn't let go. He never really wanted to let go again. 

“As long as I don't look at you, I don't think there's anything stopping me from holding your hand when you want,” Minhyuk said, then he stopped. “If you want,” he corrected softly. 

He could hear Hyungwon move a bit. 

“Close your eyes, okay? Don't look,” Hyungwon said. 

Minhyuk closed his eyes tight, turning his head away for good measure. And then he felt Hyungwon move closer. 

He could feel the warmth against his back again, and then he felt the hand leave his grip, and then an arm snaked its way around his middle. Minhyuk froze as Hyungwon pressed against his side, holding him. 

“Is...is this okay?” Hyungwon asked softly. 

Everything ached, and the stew had to be done by now, but Minhyuk didn't care. 

“Yes,” he said softly. 

Hyungwon hummed softly and squeezed his arm around Minhyuk's middle, letting his head press against the back of Minhyuk's shoulder. 

Being held when he didn't think he'd ever be held again was strange. The earth felt like it tilted and then righted again under his feet. 

Hyungwon felt so warm pressed up against him, and he held him like he was indulging himself. Like he had been abstaining from something he loved for a long time and finally got to do it again. Minhyuk didn't have the heart to tell him to let go, so he could check on the food. He'd eat it mushy and burnt if it meant that Hyungwon could be happy for a bit. 

But he didn't have to wait long for Hyungwon to let go. All too quickly, the warmth was gone, and he could hear Hyungwon shuffling back away from him. Hand falling away. 

“I’m sorry,” Hyungwon said. 

Minhyuk let his eyes open and stared at the pot on the fire. 

“There's nothing to be sorry for,” Minhyuk answered. He got up and used a piece of cloth to pick up the handle and pull the pot off the fire. 

“The food is ready. Do you want me to put a bowl in the doorway?” Minhyuk asked. 

“Please,” came Hyungwon's voice from the other side of the wall. 

At least he hadn't run away. Minhyuk smiled as he filled a bowl up and put it in the doorway. He watched as Hyungwon’s hand,  _ the hand that had been in his _ , came and pulled the bowl out of sight. 

Minhyuk turned back to his pot and filled himself a bowl before he went to settle against the wall again to eat. He listened to Hyungwon eat, trying to see if he sounded like a monster, but he didn't. He ate quietly, smacking his lips occasionally, and Minhyuk smiled at that too. 

A week went by, then two, and they had gotten closer. Hyungwon used to disappear for hours at a time, but now he was always there. Always close by. 

He would very politely ask sometimes if he could hold Minhyuk, and Minhyuk never refused him. He'd close his eyes and wait until Hyungwon came up behind him and wrapped his arms around him, his head leaning down against his shoulder. 

Minhyuk had always been tall, but Hyungwon was taller than him by a few centimeters, so Minhyuk always felt engulfed by Hyungwon when he was holding him. Minhyuk loved it. Loved being held like he was precious and cared for. 

Hyungwon would hold him tightly, but not too tight, his arms secure but not hard to get out of if Minhyuk ever wanted to pull away. He'd breathe softly against the side of Minhyuk's neck and against his ear, and Minhyuk shivered with how intimate it felt. 

They never talked about it. This need that Hyungwon seemed to have developed. But Minhyuk felt like he understood. If he had felt touch starved after a month, he couldn't imagine how touch starved Hyungwon felt after years. Centuries even. 

And Hyungwon had been so gracious of a host, so caring and thoughtful that Minhyuk felt that letting Hyungwon hold him occasionally was barely thanks enough. After all, his life relied on Hyungwon constantly warning him where he was, to close his eyes, to look away. 

And if it made something inside Minhyuk’s chest burst with light every time Hyungwon squeezed him closer, he never mentioned it. 

Eyes closed, leaned back against Hyungwon’s chest, Minhyuk smiled to himself. 

“I don't feel like cooking today,” Minhyuk said. 

“Oh?”

“I feel lazy. I don't want to move.”

Hyungwon laughed a bit as he readjusted his arms, so they were just under Minhyuk’s chest. 

Minhyuk imagined his face as he laughed. How his eyes would crinkle and his lips turn up and mouth fall open a bit. He painted the image across the back of his eyelids and let himself sink backwards, closer to him. 

“But you have to. I don't want you starving,” Hyungwon said. 

“Hm. We could go to that one mango tree and eat?” Minhyuk asked.

Hyungwon hummed, and Minhyuk felt it vibrate gently through him, the soft sound right next to his ear. 

“Will that be enough to sate you?” Hyungwon asked. 

“At least for the day if I eat enough,” Minhyuk said. 

“Okay.” Hyungwon moved back, arms starting to move away, but Minhyuk held onto them, wrapped them back around him. 

“Not yet. We can stay here a bit longer,” Minhyuk said. 

Hyungwon laughed, quieter this time, but he didn't move to let go again. 

“I’m starting to think you enjoy this as much as I do,” he said. 

“Only just now? Of course, I enjoy it,” Minhyuk mumbled. 

Then it was silent. 

It was different now. Before Hyungwon was silence, silence that moved and lived like death. But now, Minhyuk had grown used to his voice. His movements. The soft pad of his bare feet on stone. The little noises he made in the back of his throat. 

So now, silence felt eerie. It felt strange. 

“Hyungwon?” 

“Hush. Don't open your eyes.”

“But--”

Hyungwon moved away, and Minhyuk felt the breeze against his back, and he frowned. 

“I said we could stay longer,” Minhyuk said, reaching out blindly around him for Hyungwon. 

“Stop, I'm not leaving. Be still,” Hyungwon said from somewhere behind him. 

Minhyuk sighed, but he let his hands drop to his sides. He was about to speak again when Hyungwon spoke instead. 

“Do you trust me?”

Minhyuk didn't even think as he started nodding. “Of course.”

He heard Hyungwon take a deep breath. Footsteps over stone closer to him. The rustling of Hyungwon's clothes as he moved. 

Then Minhyuk felt him close in front of him, and he automatically closed his eyes tighter to fight the temptation to look. 

And then he felt Hyungwon’s lips brush softly against his cheek. A shy little touch that disappeared almost as quickly as it came, but Minhyuk reached up and touched Hyungwon, not caring where, only taking a moment to realize that he had grabbed onto Hyungwon's arm. 

“I-i’m sorry. I shouldn't have without asking first, but I thought you'd say no, and I'll never do it again, but I just--”

“Kiss me,” Minhyuk said, cutting off the string of words that Hyungwon was spilling out. 

A beat. 

“What?” 

“I can't kiss you because I can't see,” Minhyuk said. His hand traveled up Hyungwon’s arm to his shoulder, to his neck, to his face. There, he cupped Hyungwon's smooth cheek, and he smiled, eyes still closed. 

“So you have to kiss me first.”

“You...want me to kiss you?”

“I do. And you wanted to kiss me or else you would've never done it.”

Hyungwon’s hand held Minhyuk’s against his face. 

“I was...it was supposed to be a thank you,” Hyungwon said softly. 

“What are you thanking me for?”

“Everything. For not trying to kill me. For talking to me. For letting me...touch you when I ask,” Hyungwon said, and his voice was getting lower and lower like a fire petering out. 

Minhyuk moved closer, toward his hand, toward where he knew Hyungwon was. 

“I think I'd have to thank you for the same things,” Minhyuk said. 

It was silent again except for their breathing. It was only a second or two, but it felt like lifetimes to Minhyuk. 

Then Hyungwon’s lips pressed against his, and Minhyuk reached up to hold his face with both hands, traced his thumbs against his cheekbones, and kissed back. 

It was quicker than Minhyuk wanted. He had wanted to kiss him properly, slowly, carefully, but he only got to press against him before Hyungwon was pulling away, getting up and stepping back. 

“Oh,” Hyungwon said.

“Oh?” Minhyuk asked. 

“Oh.”

He tried to imagine Hyungwon. If he was standing there, fingers touching his own lips. If he was blushing pink. If he was smiling. 

He hoped Hyungwon was smiling. 

“We shouldn't have done that,” Hyungwon said softly. 

Minhyuk groaned. “We both wanted it. Why can't we?”

“It’s dangerous, Minhyuk. If you had opened your eyes, and I had opened mine for a split second--”

“I didn't open my eyes,” Minhyuk said. 

“But you could have. This life is already lonely and hard enough without that. I'd never forgive myself, Minhyuk.”

“You won't have to forgive yourself. I won't open my eyes. I won't turn to stone. I just want to touch you.” Minhyuk’s voice was softer than he had wanted it to be. Not as sure as he might have needed to convince Hyungwon. But he felt sure. He had never felt more sure about something than how much he wanted to kiss and hold Hyungwon.

Even if he could only stare at the back of his own eyelids. 

“Minhyuk--”

“Please, Hyungwon. I haven't slipped up yet. I won't slip up now.”

A pause. “I’ll think about it.”

Minhyuk nodded, taking whatever he could. 

“We should head to the mango tree, then,” Minhyuk said softly. 

“I’ll leave first. Don't--”

“Open my eyes until I can't hear your footsteps anymore,” Minhyuk responded. 

Hyungwon huffed a bit, but then he was padding off, across the room, out the door, down the hall. Minhyuk listened until he couldn't hear anything anymore, and then he opened his eyes. 

He smiled and fell back, laughing a bit as he touched his own face. He tried to remember the last time he had felt this giddy but came up empty. Nothing had ever made him feel lighter than when Hyungwon kissed him. 

It seemed that his punishment was nothing at all like he had thought. 

What they had, what they had developed together, was almost unspoken. Hyungwon didn't need to ask to hold him anymore, he just said he was coming behind him. He'd hold him like he always had, but now he would drop kisses to Minhyuk’s shoulder, his neck, his hair. 

And most of the time, Minhyuk, with his eyes closed, would turn his face toward Hyungwon, and then Hyungwon would shyly press their lips together. 

Minhyuk felt happy, though. Even though he could only look at Hyungwon through his small mirror or not at all, he was happy to have Hyungwon there to hold him and kiss him and spend the days with.

The days, because the nights remained lonely. Hyungwon thought it'd be too dangerous, and Minhyuk understood that he was probably right. So whenever Minhyuk started getting tired, Hyungwon would kiss him goodnight before leaving.

The nights were lonely, but Minhyuk tried not to think about it. He knew that when the morning came, he would wake up and call out for Hyungwon, and then Hyungwon’s steps would come padding down the hall. 

And Minhyuk was careful. He'd watch through his mirror for him, and he'd close his eyes when Hyungwon held him, or he'd look away from him at the wall or at the fire, and he'd close his eyes firmly before ever turning his head back toward him. 

It was like being blind, but Minhyuk dealt with it well. At least he was cared for. At least he was being touched. At least he was making Hyungwon happy. 

He was leaning into Hyungwon's arms one day, warm from being wrapped up and the fire in front of him cooking fish. Hyungwon kissed at his neck softly.

“I think it’s done,” Hyungwon said. He had to help Minhyuk cook now that Minhyuk had to keep his eyes closed so often. 

“Hm?” 

Hyungwon moved away from Minhyuk, further behind him, and Minhyuk opened his eyes to check the food. He picked up the stick that he had skewered through the fish and picked it up, moving it off the fire. 

“You want to try this?” Minhyuk asked, glancing over at the mirror he always kept propped up in front of him now. 

“Just a bite.”

Minhyuk grinned as he blew gently on the food, waiting for it to cool enough to eat. When he decided it wasn’t burning hot anymore, he pinched some of the meat off and held the bit behind him where Hyungwon’s head had been only a few moments ago. He heard Hyungwon laugh a bit before he leaned in, and Minhyuk watched in the mirror as Hyungwon took it from him and popped it into his mouth. 

“You like it?” Minhyuk asked. 

Hyungwon chewed, making a thoughtful face. “It isn't bad.”

“Do you want more?” Minhyuk asked. 

“No. Eat. You need it,” Hyungwon said. 

Minhyuk smiled and ate then, watching through the mirror as Hyungwon stretched out and looked around the room like he always did. 

“What are you always looking for?” Minhyuk asked. 

Hyungwon glanced down at the mirror, and this was the closest they ever got to looking at each other. 

“Nothing. I just never used to come in here before you came. Sometimes it still feels strange to be in here.”

“I know this probably used to be the holiest place in the temple, but no one has worshipped here in so long. I don't even know what God was worshipped here.”

“It wasn't just one. It was a handful of them.”

Minhyuk raised a brow as he kept eating, waiting to see if Hyungwon would continue. He didn't. 

“Do you know which ones?” Minhyuk asked after swallowing.

Hyungwon hummed and shrugged, so Minhyuk dropped it. Hyungwon never liked to talk about the past, and while Minhyuk was curious, he didn't think the pain that would appear in Hyungwon's eyes was worth it.

“It doesn't matter. It's just my room now anyway,” Minhyuk said. 

Hyungwon laughed a bit. “It is.”

“The strangest thing in here is me,” Minhyuk said. 

Hyungwon tilted his head, grinning. “Wouldn't that be me?”

“There's nothing strange about you.”

Hyungwon flushed, and even in the firelight in a tiny mirror, Minhyuk could see it. He smiled even wider. 

“You are a flirt, Lee Minhyuk,” Hyungwon said softly. 

“Only for you,” Minhyuk said. 

“Close your eyes.”

Minhyuk licked his lips and did. He waited until he felt Hyungwon press kisses to his jaw before turning his head, and then Hyungwon pressed kisses to his lips. 

“If flirting gets me kisses…” Minhyuk whispered as Hyungwon moved to kiss his cheeks. 

“Hush.”

Minhyuk smiled. “I'll have to do it all the time.”

Hyungwon giggled and kissed him one last time before pulling away, pushing at his cheek gently to get him to look straight ahead. 

“Eat your food,” Hyungwon said. 

Minhyuk opened his eyes and stared at what was left of his fish, sighing. 

“I'd rather spend the night being kissed,” he said softly. 

Hyungwon’s hand traced down his back gently. 

“Eat first. That's more important.”

Minhyuk laughed a bit as he started eating again, watching Hyungwon in the reflection. This time Hyungwon just stared at him, fondness clouding his brown eyes. A fire lit in Minhyuk's belly at the look. He wanted to touch him more. Be closer. 

He reached a hand behind him, and Hyungwon took it in his easily, and it wasn't enough, but it'd have to do for now. 

When Minhyuk was finishing up, though, Hyungwon perked up, looking back toward the door. 

“What is it?” Minhyuk asked, and he had to fight every instinct he had not to turn around and look. 

“Stay here. I think I heard something,” Hyungwon said. 

And then Minhyuk watched Hyungwon’s reflection as it left out the door. 

Frowning, Minhyuk turned around to walk to the door and listen. 

He knew that while Hyungwon wasn't a monster, he wasn't human either. Not really. He could hear and see things from further away. He never grew tired or hungry or hot or cold. He just always was. 

But Hyungwon had never left because of something he heard before. 

And then the only reason for him leaving dawned on Minhyuk. That he hadn't heard something. That he had heard  _ someone. _

Minhyuk cursed under his breath as he picked up his bow and quiver and his dagger. He cursed one last time before he ran out after Hyungwon, nocking an arrow just in case. 

Once he was out in the open temple, surrounded by statues, he could hear it. The stamping of an impatient horse. 

Minhyuk got low as he walked out to the forest, following the sound until he got to a horse without its rider, tied to a branch. 

Minhyuk patted its nose, trying to calm it as he looked around. 

The horse had a decent enough saddle, one made to be used in battle if need be. There were a few bags of provisions tied to it, as well as some medicinal herbs. 

Whoever had come had planned for quite the taxing journey. Minhyuk patted at the horse one last time before walking away, back towards the temple, arrow at the ready. 

If they didn't have a sword, Minhyuk would leave them alone. If they hadn't come to kill Hyungwon, Minhyuk would leave them alone. 

But if they had come, sword in hand and ready to slay a monster that didn't exist, Minhyuk would stop them. He had to. 

He stayed low as he circled the temple, watching carefully until he saw him. The warrior that had come. His large sword drawn. 

Minhyuk frowned as he stared at the other thing the man carried. The large mirror that he placed against a column and stared at. 

The mirror that would let him look at Hyungwon without turning to stone. 

Minhyuk cursed as he circled toward him, determination pooling in his gut. 

“Bold of you to come to me,” the man said. 

Minhyuk froze, but as he looked, the man was staring directly at his reflection in the mirror. His grip tightened around the handle of his sword like he was trying to calculate how he would use it without turning 

And then Minhyuk realized that the man thought that he was Hyungwon. Minhyuk puffed out his chest and aimed again as he walked closer. 

“You shouldn't have come here,” Minhyuk said, trying to make his voice as threatening as it could be. 

“You use a weapon. I thought you just needed to look at a man to make them into the statues around us.”

Minhyuk frowned, but he didn't drop his arrow. 

“Just go back home. Nobody has to get hurt,” Minhyuk said. 

“You’re a menace. How many people have you already hurt?”

Minhyuk moved and let go, sending a warning shot flying past him and the mirror. He didn't look away as he grabbed another arrow, nocked it, and aimed again. 

The warrior had flinched. Had almost looked. 

“How dare you--”

“Nobody would get hurt if they left him alone,” Minhyuk said. 

The warrior blinked, and Minhyuk realized his mistake. 

“Him? So it isn't you. You're just a watchdog for a monster.”

Minhyuk didn't answer. He barely breathed. 

The warrior turned around then and looked at him, and Minhyuk knew that the tremble in his hand might make him miss. 

When the man ran toward him, Minhyuk stumbled back and shot, and he did miss, and he knew he couldn't nock a new one in time. 

A hand covered his eyes, and then the bow was shoved out of his hand, and everything went still except for the breathing next to him. 

“I told you to stay in the room,” Hyungwon said softly. 

Minhyuk felt himself give a bit. Melt back against Hyungwon's chest, and Hyungwon kept his hand over his eyes as he did. 

“Hyungwon.”

“You could've died. He could've killed you,” Hyungwon said, but then his other arm came up to wrap around Minhyuk's waist to hold him, and Minhyuk let himself be held like that. Hand on his side and on his face. 

“I couldn't let him hurt you,” Minhyuk said softly. 

“He wouldn't have hurt me, Minhyuk. You've seen all the people that have come to kill me and look where they are. Where I am.”

“But--”

“Hush. Just hush and close your eyes,” Hyungwon said, and he sounded so strange. Like his voice was on the verge of breaking. 

Minhyuk shut his eyes tight. “Okay, they’re closed.”

Then Hyungwon turned him around. Minhyuk felt Hyungwon’s hands cup his face, and then Hyungwon was kissing him. Kissing him properly. Kissing him like it was the only thing that mattered. 

Minhyuk didn't open his eyes, but he wrapped his arms around Hyungwon’s neck and held him closer, kissed him harder. Tasted the night air and the slight char from the bite of food he had. 

He didn't open his eyes, but he licked into Hyungwon's mouth and felt him moan more than he heard it. 

He didn't open his eyes, but he let Hyungwon run his hands down his back and pull their hips together. 

It was like someone was pouring moonlight into Minhyuk. He felt so full and happy as they kissed. Finally, really kissed each other like Minhyuk had wanted to the first time, but Hyungwon had been too shy to commit to. 

When Hyungwon finally pulled away, Minhyuk chased after his lips, making Hyungwon laugh softly. Hyungwon's soft hand covered his eyes again before he kissed him softly one last time. 

“At least one good thing came out of this,” Hyungwon said. 

“What is that?” Minhyuk asked. 

“The giant mirror he brought us.”

Then Hyungwon turned him around again, and Minhyuk opened his eyes. Past the new statue, the warrior all in stone, he could see the mirror. He could see Hyungwon right behind him, his hand on Minhyuk's hip in the reflection. Minhyuk smiled. 

“We can definitely use that,” Minhyuk said.

“Next time, I don't want you to try to hurt someone for me, okay? I don't want you to become a monster, too,” Hyungwon said. 

“You're not a monster. You never were a monster.”

Hyungwon pouted a bit, his lip quivering. And then he buried his face in Minhyuk's shoulder before he wrapped his arms around Minhyuk and held him close. 

Minhyuk reached up to play with Hyungwon's hair, not saying anything. Just let Hyungwon feel whatever it was that was making him cry against his shoulder. 

Later when Hyungwon felt better, they went and moved the horse to the grassy area behind the temple to let it go. Instead of running away, it stayed. They took all the pouches it had and took them back into Minhyuk's room. 

The last thing they did before Hyungwon left was move the large mirror to Minhyuk’s room and set it up so they could see almost the entire room in it. 

“You could probably use the horse to leave if you want,” Hyungwon said. Minhyuk frowned at him through the mirror. He was lounged back against Hyungwon, both of them sitting right in front of the mirror, so they could look at each other. 

“Why would I want to leave?” Minhyuk asked.

“You used to live in a palace. This dilapidated temple can't be nearly as luxurious.”

“But here, I'm not serving someone. I do whatever I want. I eat well,” Minhyuk paused to smile a bit. “I have you.”

Hyungwon smiled and ducked down to kiss Minhyuk’s shoulder. 

“You could've found someone better I'm sure. Someone you could actually look at.”

Minhyuk reached up and played with Hyungwon’s hair. Ruffled it a bit at the bangs. 

“No one as beautiful as you, though. No one as kind.”

“Kind.”

“Yes. Before you spoke to me, you'd still leave me food and stuff,” Minhyuk said. 

Hyungwon didn't say anything. He just smiled and dropped more kisses on Minhyuk's shoulder, on his neck. 

Minhyuk closed his eyes and turned to blindly kiss at whatever spot on Hyungwon he reached. Hyungwon laughed a bit before he grabbed Minhyuk’s face and held him still, so they could kiss. 

They laughed softly against each other, just so happy to be together. Eyes closed and pressed close to each other. 

“Can I look at you if you close your eyes?” Minhyuk asked, looking back at the mirror.

“It scares me when you ask stuff like that.”

“Well, if it's just your eyes, wouldn't you closing them work, too?” 

Hyungwon played with the bottom of Minhyuk's shirt and hummed. He closed his eyes. 

“Go ahead, then,” he said. 

“Whatever you do, don't open your eyes.”

“I know,” Hyungwon said with a little laugh, but he shut his eyes tighter anyway. Minhyuk turned and looked at him. 

His breath caught. 

This was the first time Minhyuk had actually looked at him, not just a reflection. He reached out and traced his knuckles up against Hyungwon’s cheek. 

“God, were you a statue, too? It's like you’re sculpted,” Minhyuk asked. 

Hyungwon smiled and giggled a bit. “Definitely not.”

Minhyuk traced his fingertips over the lines of Hyungwon's face. His cheekbones, his brows, his nose, his lips, and his jaw. Over and over again in a cycle. 

“I wonder what your face looks like right now,” Hyungwon said softly. 

Minhyuk smiled. “Happy.”

Hyungwon smiled. Face soft and eyes closed, and Minhyuk ached to stare into his big brown eyes and tell him everything and anything he wanted to hear. 

Instead, he leaned in and kissed Hyungwon. Hoped that was enough to explain his feelings. 

Hyungwon pulled away and buried his face in Minhyuk's shoulder. 

“Can I open my eyes now?” He asked. 

Minhyuk turned back toward the mirror. 

“Yes. I'm not looking.”

Hyungwon peeked up over his shoulder at the mirror before straightening back up and wrapping Minhyuk up in a strong hug. 

“You’re the kindest person I've ever met,” Hyungwon said. 

Minhyuk laughed. “I'm not that kind.”

“You saw me and told me I was beautiful. You tell me all the time I'm not a monster,” Hyungwon said. 

Hyungwon looked so sincere. Sad eyes and upturned lips. It hurt. It hurt more than Minhyuk could describe. 

“That's not being kind. That's telling you the truth.”

Hyungwon smiled brighter and kissed Minhyuk’s cheek. Minhyuk closed his eyes because he knew he was tempted to look. 

“Your version of the truth is the only one I want to hear ever again,” Hyungwon whispered.

A shiver ran up Minhyuk's spine, and he wanted. 

“Hyungwon.”

“Yes?”

“I want you.”

“Want me?”

Minhyuk huffed. Didn't Hyungwon want him back? He opened his eyes and looked at Hyungwon’s wide eyes staring at him in the mirror. 

“I want to touch you...or have you touch me,” Minhyuk said. Hyungwon raised a brow and kissed Minhyuk's neck softly again. 

“Alright.”

Minhyuk almost choked. “Alright?”

Hyungwon laughed a bit as his hands moved downwards on Minhyuk's body. 

“I've wanted to touch you since we first kissed,” Hyungwon said. 

Air was suddenly harder to come by as Hyungwon untied the belt around Minhyuk's pants, and his hands slipped under the waistband. Minhyuk let himself lean back against Hyungwon to make it easier for him. 

“Your hands are always so warm,” Minhyuk said.

“Hm. Are they?” 

Hyungwon's hand wrapped around Minhyuk gently, and Minhyuk thought he might melt into a puddle right then. 

“Yes,” he said softly. 

Hyungwon kissed the side of Minhyuk's head, his eyes never leaving their reflection. 

“Tell me what you like,” Hyungwon said. 

“You.”

Hyungwon laughed again, and Minhyuk loved the sound of it. Loved the way Hyungwon’s face went all round when he laughed. Loved…

“Does this feel good?” Hyungwon asked.

He was stroking Minhyuk slowly, thumb rubbing over the head on each upstroke, and Minhyuk nodded. Warm warm warm. 

“Really good,” he said softly. 

Hyungwon hummed and moved his hand faster. Minhyuk bit his lip and watched in the reflection. Hyungwon’s hand disappearing beneath his waistband. The way the fabric shifted with each movement. The way Hyungwon was staring back.

Minhyuk had gotten good at fighting temptation. Instinct. He fought the instinct to turn toward a sound. He fought the instinct to look whenever Hyungwon touched his cheek. He fought the instinct to open his eyes whenever Hyungwon touched him too lightly, and it tickled. 

He was so tired of fighting it. All he wanted was to look up at Hyungwon and actually  _ see  _ him. 

“Cover my eyes,” Minhyuk said softly. 

Hyungwon didn't question it. He just used his free hand to cover up Minhyuk's eyes while his other hand kept working at him. 

And then Minhyuk just  _ felt _ . 

Hot and shivery. 

Hyungwon’s breath against his hair. 

The pit of his stomach coiling tighter and tighter. 

The warmth from Hyungwon's hands sinking into his skin. 

He came, panting and moaning, wanting nothing more than to look at Hyungwon. To have Hyungwon see him. See how he made him feel. See how he had made him fall apart so easily. 

Instead, he was left with his eyes closed, Hyungwon’s fingers over them. 

The edges of Minhyuk's chest ached, and he scrambled to turn around to kiss him, keeping his eyes shut tight just in case. 

Hyungwon let out a little noise of surprise before he covered Minhyuk's eyes again and kissed him back. His other hand grabbed at his hip, then at his side, then at his hip again. Like he didn't know where he wanted to hold more. 

Minhyuk didn't know what he was wanted so badly right then, but he was desperate for it. He couldn't see, but he could feel. 

He pulled at Hyungwon’s clothes until he felt skin. Until his hand found what it was looking for, wrapping around Hyungwon's already hard cock. 

“Minhyuk,” Hyungwon whispered against Minhyuk's lips, but Minhyuk just kissed him harder as he started touching and stroking at Hyungwon. 

They fell back onto the floor, but Minhyuk didn't dare open his eyes, and Hyungwon didn't dare move his hand away. They just kept kissing. Hyungwon started thrusting up into Minhyuk's hand, and he moved to bury his face against Minhyuk’s collarbone. 

“Minhyuk, oh, Minhyuk,” Hyungwon whispered. Minhyuk squeezed his hand tighter, stroking at Hyungwon as best he could. 

“Feel good?” Minhyuk asked. 

“Yes, please don't stop,” Hyungwon shuddered out. 

And before he knew it, he could feel Hyungwon twitching in his hand, shivering and trembling under him, and he knew Hyungwon was coming even though he couldn't see it. Even though Hyungwon kept his hand pressed to his eyes like their lives depended on it. 

The exhaustion settled deep into Minhyuk's bones then, everything catching up with him. He laid down on top of Hyungwon, turning his head away from him. 

A few seconds passed before Hyungwon wrapped his arms around him and held him close. 

“I'm sorry,” Hyungwon whispered. 

Minhyuk frowned. “Why?”

“I want to look at you, too. But...but…”

Minhyuk covered Hyungwon’s eyes before he moved to kiss those words away from him. To stop him from blaming himself for something he couldn't control. 

He ached, but it was worth it. He'd take Hyungwon, eyes closed and covered, instead of not at all. 

Maybe it was morbid to be death’s lover, but Hyungwon wasn't death anymore. Not to Minhyuk. 

Hyungwon was the coolness during a rainfall. The mist over the grass in the mornings. The sound of laughter echoing on stone. The warmth of palms pressed together. 

There were things he still didn't know about Hyungwon, things he might never know, but Minhyuk didn't mind. As long as they got to hold each other and kiss each other and be together, he didn't mind. 

It was when he stopped seeking answers that they started slowly coming to him. Hyungwon had learned practically everything about Minhyuk, and he reciprocated whenever Minhyuk managed to be the one sitting behind him, the one holding him securely in his arms. 

“I never wished for this, you know,” Hyungwon said.

Minhyuk played idly with one of the many curls of Hyungwon's hair, but he watched him in the mirror, always staring at him when he got the chance. 

“I know,” Minhyuk said. 

“But I guess the gods had no choice.”

“Do you think this is a punishment?” 

Hyungwon licked his lips and looked down. 

“I don't know. It was two-fold. It punished me and others.”

“Which others? The people that fill up your garden?”

Hyungwon shook his head. “Those people...the ones I believe I was meant to punish...they don't exist anymore.”

Minhyuk raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

“They turned to stone...and then I turned them into pieces.”

Minhyuk’s fingers stopped playing with his hair but only for a moment. He wrapped his arms right across Hyungwon’s chest and held him. 

“Did you think they deserved it?” Minhyuk asked softly. 

Hyungwon sniffed and kept staring away, trying to keep the tears Minhyuk could see welling up at bay. 

“I did,” he said. 

“I believe you then. That they deserved it.”

Hyungwon gave one humorless laugh before he rubbed at his eyes. 

“And what about me? Do you think this is just?”

Minhyuk’s frown deepened. “No.”

“You don't even know what happened.”

“No, but I know you. And no creature deserves the loneliness you had to live with for so long.”

Hyungwon sniffed again and leveled Minhyuk with a look. 

“Do you want to know what happened?”

Minhyuk sighed and held Hyungwon tighter. “If you wish to tell me.”

“What if you won't want to touch me anymore?”

Minhyuk grinned and kissed Hyungwon shoulder. “Impossible.”

Hyungwon laughed a bit, and Minhyuk was glad to relieve some of the tension. But then his face grew somber again as he looked away. 

“I was a stupid boy. Gullible. So gullible,” Hyungwon said. 

Minhyuk kissed his shoulder again, not wanting to interrupt but wanting to be there. 

“I didn't know any of the gods in this temple. I didn't worship them. But there was a boy who came to my village, and I thought him so handsome and fascinating because he was new. It was easy enough for him to seduce me. To make me believe he had fallen in love with me,” Hyungwon said. 

Minhyuk didn't like where this was going. He stared at Hyungwon’s somber reflection, hoping that it wasn't as awful as he was imagining it to be.

Hyungwon took a deep breath. “I think his village was dying. They had barely any crops, something like that. I didn't know this at the time of course. All I knew was that he told me he wanted to bind us together forever, and that he could only do it here at this temple.”

Minhyuk shut his eyes and squeezed Hyungwon tighter when he felt him start to tremble slightly. 

“He tied me to the offering table and...offered me to the gods,” Hyungwon said. 

Minhyuk’s eyes shot open. An offering to the gods was a sacrifice. Usually a jug of wine or a freshly slaughtered chicken. A lamb or an ox in times of desperation. 

But not what Hyungwon was describing. That was an abomination. An affront to every part of Minhyuk's being. 

“I had just wanted to be left alone, but people kept coming to poke at me. To  _ watch _ me. I guess the gods heard my prayers.”

Minhyuk reached up and wiped at Hyungwon’s cheeks with his thumb. Wiped away the tears that were finally falling. Held him tight tight tight with his other arm. 

“So they changed me. Mended my wounds and helped me breathe again and left me unbound and when someone came to look at me, they turned to stone,” Hyungwon said softly. 

“Oh, Hyungwon,” Minhyuk said. 

“I thought it was just then. I thought they were using me to punish evil worshippers. So I did. I punished everyone in the temple. And then I smashed the statues. I thought that would be all, but then someone came, someone innocent, and then they were turned to stone, and I realized that this...this was forever.”

“Hush. Hush now,” Minhyuk whispered, pressing his lips against the side of Hyungwon's head. He rocked back and forth a bit, trying to be comforting. 

Hyungwon pressed his palms to his eyes, and Minhyuk grabbed his wrists to gently pull them away. 

“Look in the mirror,” Minhyuk said. 

“No.”

“Just look.”

Hyungwon huffed before he turned to look at the mirror straight on. Cheeks covered in salt and eyes pink and puffy. Minhyuk hooked his chin over his shoulder and wrapped both their arms around him. 

“None of that was your fault, Hyungwon,” Minhyuk said slowly. Deliberately. Because he knew Hyungwon had never heard those words when he should have. 

Hyungwon let out a shaky breath. 

“What is this? Are you going to ask me what I see when I look in the mirror?”

Minhyuk shook his head. “No. I already know what you see. I'm going to tell you what I see.”

“Minhyuk--”

“I see a man that has been punishing himself more than he ever should have. Punishing himself for something he shouldn't have been punished for.”

Hyungwon closed his eyes and shook his head, but Minhyuk held him tighter, tracing his thumbs against the soft skin of his wrists. 

“I see a man that thinks of himself as a monster when he could never be one.”

Hyungwon's lips trembled, and he hung his head a bit. Minhyuk pressed kisses to the back of his neck. 

“Maybe the gods were overzealous in granting your wish to be alone,” Minhyuk said. 

Hyungwon sputtered out a laugh, but he moved his hands to grab onto Minhyuk's. Minhyuk squeezed them in his. 

“But maybe the gods tried to give you kindness too. You don't turn animals to stone. They gave you ways around it.”

“Minhyuk…”

“They sent me.”

Hyungwon looked back up at their reflection. Minhyuk licked his lips and looked back. 

“Maybe they thought it was time you stopped punishing yourself.”

Minhyuk pressed another kiss to Hyungwon’s neck, but Hyungwon shook his head. 

“You don't know that.”

“I don't, but it feels right. Maybe they want you to be happy now. To be at peace…” Minhyuk took a deep breath and stared right into Hyungwon's reflected eyes. “To be loved.”

Hyungwon’s eyes widened. He stopped, froze in place like a statue. 

A moment. A breath. 

Maybe two. 

“...loved?” Hyungwon asked, and his voice was a waterfall breaking at the bottom. 

Minhyuk smiled and nodded. 

“You...love me?” Hyungwon asked again. 

Minhyuk reached up to move the hair out of Hyungwon’s eyes. 

“I do. I love you.”

And Minhyuk didn't expect that to break Hyungwon the way it did, but he weathered it. He let Hyungwon close his own eyes before he turned around and buried himself in Minhyuk's chest to sob. Minhyuk held Hyungwon to him, shushing him, a gentle stream to his waterfall. He told him over and over again that he was loved until Hyungwon stopped shaking, and then he kissed the top of his head and played with his hair and told him again and again. 

Eventually, Hyungwon’s hand came up to cover up Minhyuk's eyes, and then they were kissing, and Hyungwon tasted like the salt from his tears, but Minhyuk didn't mind. He just kissed him back and swallowed down the whispered ‘ _ I love you, too’ _ s. 

That night, it had never hurt more for them to separate, so Minhyuk could sleep. 

Hyungwon was death and love personified for Minhyuk. It felt like nothing could hurt them except themselves. Storms would come and go. The season changed from summer to fall. Minhyuk spent his days hunting with Hyungwon always behind him. He needed the meat, but more importantly he needed the furs and skins to keep him warm. 

He taught himself how to make jerky for when the winter came. He settled down. The haunted temple with a strange garden was home even if it didn't feel like it. Hyungwon’s arms and a mirror did, however, feel exactly like home. 

The ache to look at him still thudded idly in his chest, but he had grown used to it. He didn't notice it unless they were in the throes of passion, and then he would tell Hyungwon to cover his eyes because he didn't trust himself. 

The best nights were also the hardest nights. The nights when Hyungwon would brace himself against the mirror and let Minhyuk hold his hair as Minhyuk fucked between his pressed together thighs from behind. Minhyuk couldn't be tempted to look then. He'd end up draped over Hyungwon's back, pressing kisses to his shoulder blade as he took Hyungwon in his hand to make him tremble beneath him. 

Those nights came often, but they were the hardest, Minhyuk laying down to sleep as Hyungwon covered his eyes and kissed him. Minhyuk never wanted to let Hyungwon slip from his arms, but he always had to. He always did. 

He'd wake up in the morning, and the first thing he would do is call out for Hyungwon to come back to him. He'd stare at the mirror and wait until Hyungwon’s smiling face appeared in it, walking straight over to hug and kiss Minhyuk good morning. 

They talked a lot and laughed more. And even with the ache, the want, Minhyuk didn't think he'd ever been happier than right then, than whenever he was with Hyungwon, laughing about nonsense and kissing with covered up eyes.

After making himself new warmer clothes, he had a strip of cotton left over, taken from the warrior’s shirt, that gave him ideas. 

He came back from washing up at the stream to find Hyungwon waiting for him in front of their mirror. 

Hyungwon smiled at him through the mirror and hugged his knees. 

“That was quick,” Hyungwon said. 

Minhyuk smiled and sat down behind Hyungwon before pressing a kiss to the spot between his shoulders. 

“I hurried,” Minhyuk said. 

“Not for me, I hope,” Hyungwon said, and he was grinning, so Minhyuk grinned too. 

“Of course, it's for you. Actually, I had an idea that I wanted to try out.”

“Why do I always get worried when you have an idea?”

Minhyuk laughed and kissed him again. “Just close your eyes,” Minhyuk said. 

Hyungwon gave him one last lingering look before he closed his eyes. Minhyuk leaned closer and kissed his cheek before he took the piece of fabric and pulled it over Hyungwon's eyes. 

“Oh, what is this?” Hyungwon asked, hands coming up to feel at the fabric. 

“Something that covers your eyes,” Minhyuk said as he tied the strip around Hyungwon's hair carefully, making sure his hair didn't get caught up in the knot. When he finished he looked at the mirror to evaluate his work. 

“Can you see?” Minhyuk asked. He slipped a finger under the strip to make sure it wasn't too tight. 

“Not at all,” Hyungwon answered. 

“Does it feel okay?”

“Yes. It feels fine.”

“Turn toward me?”

Hyungwon swallowed. Gulped. He reached back and squeezed at Minhyuk’s thighs. 

“What if I open my eyes under here?”

“I won't see them,” Minhyuk said. 

Hyungwon took a breath before he turned his head back toward Minhyuk. 

Minhyuk looked at him, smiling. 

“Minhyuk?”

“I'm here. I'm fine.”

Hyungwon smiled a bit before he turned his body around to face Minhyuk. 

“Am I facing you? I can't tell,” Hyungwon said. 

Minhyuk took Hyungwon’s face in his hands and turned his face toward him. “Here. Now you're looking right at me,” Minhyuk said. 

“I guess this was a decent idea,” Hyungwon said. Minhyuk laughed.

“My ideas haven't failed us yet.”

“That is true.”

“Be still for a moment,” Minhyuk said. He leaned in and kissed Hyungwon, and it felt closer. No hand in their way.

Hyungwon moaned softly, his hands coming up to touch Minhyuk’s sides. 

They kissed like that for a while, slowly, feeling each other like it was the first time, and they had to figure each other out again. 

When Hyungwon pulled away, he was flushed pink and breathing heavier. 

“You look pretty like this. Blushing,” Minhyuk said. He traced his thumbs over Hyungwon's warm cheeks. 

Hyungwon laughed a bit. “I thought I was pretty all the time.”

Minhyuk smiled. “You are. Even with this.” He brushed his fingers against the blue cotton fabric secured on his face, and Hyungwon shivered. 

“I want you,” Hyungwon said. He bunched up Minhyuk's shirt in his hands and tugged at it. 

Minhyuk leaned in and kissed him again. “Okay. Just let me…” He pulled up Hyungwon’s shirt, and Hyungwon held up his arms to make it easier. Minhyuk was careful not to snag the blindfold as he pulled it off. Then he pulled Hyungwon closer and laid him back on the blanket they kept on the ground. He pulled Hyungwon’s pants off quickly, and then he just looked at Hyungwon for a while. It was a rare sight, being able to see Hyungwon belly-up and bare. 

Minhyuk let his hands roam over Hyungwon's body as he undressed himself. He felt how Hyungwon's skin broke out into goosebumps. He listened to the soft gasps he made whenever Minhyuk went back to touching him. He watched as Hyungwon got harder and harder without Minhyuk even touching him there. 

Once Minhyuk had both of them fully undressed, he leaned down and kissed Hyungwon's neck, his collarbones, his chest. He moved down his body, kissing and nipping lightly as he went, smiling every time Hyungwon moaned in response. 

When he was kissing the spot below his belly, he could feel Hyungwon tense beneath him. And Minhyuk had always wanted to do this but never could. He moved further down and took Hyungwon into his mouth. 

Hyungwon let out a little broken whine, but Minhyuk didn't stop. He hummed softly, feeling how heavy and hot Hyungwon felt on his tongue. 

“That feels so...you feel so…” Hyungwon whispered. 

Minhyuk didn't mind that the praise was unfinished. He swallowed around Hyungwon once, experimentally, and when Hyungwon let out another moan and clutched at the blanket beneath him, Minhyuk kept doing it, flashing his tongue over and around Hyungwon’s cock until Hyungwon was a panting mess, pulling at his hair. 

Minhyuk pulled off, rubbing at Hyungwon’s thighs. 

“Was that good?” he asked. 

“You know the answer to that,” Hyungwon whispered, breathless.

Minhyuk laughed as he sat up. 

“I still like to hear you say it.”

“It felt good,” Hyungwon said.

“Good?”

Hyungwon huffed. “Amazing. Great.”

Minhyuk laughed again as he moved Hyungwon’s legs, turning both of them to one side and pushing them up just a bit. 

“Comfortable?” Minhyuk asked. 

Hyungwon nodded, upper body flat on the ground, lower body turned. Minhyuk licked his hand before he stroked at himself some, trying to get just a bit of slickness before he put his cock between Hyungwon’s thighs, right below Hyungwon’s groin. 

It was wetter than it usually was, his saliva from sucking on Hyungwon's cock dripping down around his balls and thighs. 

It was slicker, and it usually felt good, but this felt better as Minhyuk started thrusting there. He reached down and took Hyungwon’s cock in his hand, stroking it in time with his movements. 

“Does it feel good?” Hyungwon asked, and his voice was lower and breathier, and it made a fire erupt somewhere inside Minhyuk. 

“Yes, love. You feel so good,” Minhyuk said. Hyungwon nodded, moaned again as Minhyuk squeezed tighter around him. 

Neither of them lasted very long past that, Minhyuk coming between Hyungwon's thighs, and Hyungwon coming in Minhyuk's hand. 

Minhyuk moved to kiss Hyungwon then, kissed him hard enough to make him melt beneath him. 

“I love you,” Minhyuk whispered. 

“I love you, too,” Hyungwon answered. 

That night, Hyungwon stayed. Minhyuk tied the fabric around his own eyes to sleep, and Hyungwon thought it'd be safe enough to hold him while he slept if he slept like that. 

It was a happy existence they lived. Passing the blindfold back and forth, still sitting in front of the mirror when neither of them could stand it anymore. 

Happy enough.

The ache was, of course, still there. The need to look at one’s lover doesn't disappear with time. 

But Minhyuk made due with taking everything in whenever Hyungwon was blindfolded. And with how much time Hyungwon took whenever Minhyuk was the one blindfolded, he was sure that Hyungwon did the same thing. 

When winter came, Hyungwon took it upon himself to care for Minhyuk even though Minhyuk didn't need to be cared for. He shut Minhyuk up in his room and went out to catch snowshoe rabbits everyday for him to eat. He stoked the fire at night, so Minhyuk wouldn't grow cold. He'd hold Minhyuk’s chilled hands in his perennially warm ones, pressed kisses to his knuckles as they stared at each other in the mirror. 

He'd tell him when it was snowing outside, and Minhyuk would bundle up right before running outside and staring around at the blinding white that surrounded and encompassed the temple. He'd feel like a child running around, playing in the snow, laughing at the way the statues became unrecognizable under it. 

He wouldn't stay out very long, though, always wanting to laugh with Hyungwon instead of alone. And he never knew where his love disappeared to when he ran free outside. 

Minhyuk learned how to make traps and snares and set them out to help catch food. It made everything easier, though he never worried about starving. He always ate plenty.

It was far better than the winters he had spent shivering in the servant’s quarters. He was warm and loved and cared for, and he loved and cared for Hyungwon back. 

Hyungwon never referred to himself as a monster anymore. He spoke about himself kindly, finally believing it whenever Minhyuk called him beautiful. 

It was hard to believe that only a few months ago, he would shy away from being seen at all. Now he would bare his body and soul to Minhyuk every night, still flushed but always smiling. 

But as the days and weeks passed, Minhyuk felt a thorny anger at the unfairness growing inside him. It was never toward Hyungwon. He never spoke about it. But he couldn't believe how unfair the gods had been to Hyungwon. He couldn't believe that they would punish him this way for all of eternity. 

“Do you think you could show me where the offering table was?” Minhyuk asked as he ate. 

Hyungwon frowned at him through the reflection.

“Why would you want to see that?” 

“I have ideas.”

“You and your ideas,” Hyungwon said before he laid his head against Minhyuk's shoulder.

“I know, but I'm curious. You can just tell me, and I can go by myself. I wouldn't make you look at it.”

“The last time that thing was used was when I was tied to it.”

Minhyuk looked away. “I'm sorry. Forget I mentioned it.”

“I can show you. But I won't go to it. Try out whatever your idea is,” Hyungwon said. 

Minhyuk looked back at the mirror and raised a brow. “You will?”

“I will. But you have to promise me something.”

“Whatever you wish.”

“You have to leave your dagger with me.”

Minhyuk nodded. “I will. But why is that your one condition?”

Hyungwon stared back at him through the mirror, jaw setting. 

“I don't want you offering yourself to the gods in the hopes that they'll make you like me.”

Minhyuk’s eyes widened as he started shaking his head. “That wasn't my idea.”

“I don't know. I worry.”

“I won't bring any weapons with me at all, love. You can even wait for me outside.”

Hyungwon nodded slowly before closing his eyes and kissing Minhyuk's shoulder. “Good. I’d rather have you like this and have it be sure than lose you.”

Minhyuk wrapped his arms around Hyungwon and pulled him close. “Don’t worry. You won't lose me. You'll never lose me.”

Hyungwon smiled. 

“Close your eyes,” he said. 

And Minhyuk smiled because he knew. He closed his eyes and turned his head toward Hyungwon, and then Hyungwon was kissing all over his face, making him laugh. 

The offering table was hidden in plain sight. There was a room that Minhyuk had always passed to get to the inner sanctum where he slept. When he had glanced in there, it was missing its roof and there was not much in there, so he never paid it any mind. 

Now, as he stared into the room, he saw it for what it was. The snow-covered mound in the center was the offering table where Hyungwon was given a new life. 

“I'll be out here. Call and close your eyes if you need me,” Hyungwon said behind his ear. 

Minhyuk nodded and then he listened for Hyungwon’s quiet steps as they walked away a bit. He took a deep breath and walked into the room. 

It didn't feel much different from the rest of the temple. Haunted, but in a different way. 

After walking up to the table, he cleared away the snow on it until he saw the marble beneath. It looked clean which made Minhyuk frown. It didn't feel like it should be so clean. Especially after it had been baptized in human blood. 

He had no offering to give the gods except a spring of pine with sap on it from the forest around them and barely a thimbleful of rabbit’s blood that he had collected when slaughtering his food. He dropped the sprig on the table and poured the blood on top of it, hoping it was enough after centuries of getting nothing at all. 

Dropping to his knees to pray, Minhyuk realized it had been a long time since he had dropped to his knees for anything other than pleasure. He tried to stay somber as he bowed his head and asked for the only thing he could want now. 

To look into his lover’s eyes without causing either of them pain. Without turning to stone. Without making Hyungwon lonely again. 

When he opened his eyes, the sprig was still there, still not frosted over. The blood had soaked into the stone. He looked up at the sky and hoped that whatever gods used to be worshipped at this temple were still there. That they still listened. 

“I'm coming back out,” Minhyuk called as he got back up. 

“I'm waiting,” Hyungwon answered. When Minhyuk turned toward the door, Hyungwon’s hand was waiting in the doorway. Minhyuk smiled as he walked over, closing his eyes as soon as he took Hyungwon's hand in his. 

It was easy to have Hyungwon guide him now. He was so used to walking blindly behind him, trusting that Hyungwon would get them where they needed to go. 

“I'm behind you now, go into the room,” Hyungwon said, and Minhyuk felt it against the shell of his ear. 

Minhyuk opened his eyes and walked towards the fire, wanting to warm himself up. 

“Did you see what you had to?” Hyungwon asked. 

Minhyuk sighed. “I think so.”

“Are you going to go again?” 

Minhyuk pressed his lips together and rubbed at his arms as he sat down in front of the fire. 

“I don't know,” he said. 

He didn't have to look to know that Hyungwon was frowning. That he was unhappy. He could feel it. 

“You can do whatever you like. But I don't...want you trying something that would hurt you,” Hyungwon said. 

“I won't, Hyungwon. I promise.”

Hyungwon sighed and went to sit in front of the mirror. 

Once Minhyuk felt warmer, he shed some of his layers before moving over to sit behind Hyungwon, arms wrapping around him, legs spread so Hyungwon was between them. 

Hyungwon smiled before he leaned back against Minhyuk. Melted into his arms. Minhyuk kissed his head and wondered how he always seemed to smell sweet like flowers. 

They spent the night talking about the myths behind the stars they could remember, even though they couldn't see the stars. They pointed up at the ceiling and pretended the spots in the stones were the constellations they talked about. Minhyuk fell asleep with the stories playing on the back of his eyelids, the blue fabric tied around his eyes, and Hyungwon’s arms wrapped around him.

That night he dreamed of staring right into Hyungwon’s eyes before he kissed him. Knowing that it would be alright. Knowing that it had been alright for a longtime. Knowing that this was never meant to be a punishment like this. 

“Today's the solstice,” Hyungwon said. Minhyuk glanced over at him. He wore only the strip of blue over his eyes as he laid out on the blanket next to the fire. They had greeted the morning, both of them slightly restless and insatiable. Now, they were both just laying around their warm room naked. 

“How do you know?”

Hyungwon shrugged. “An inner calendar. The days passing by don't matter, but the solstice, the equinox? I just know.”

“Even with your eyes closed?”

Hyungwon laughed. “Even with my eyes closed.”

Minhyuk smiled before he crawled on top of him. And Hyungwon might not have seen it, but his hands could find Minhyuk’s shoulders in an instant. He was still laughing a bit, soft and quiet as Minhyuk nipped at his collarbone. 

“Hm. Just one of those days?” Hyungwon asked.

“Maybe it's the solstice,” Minhyuk answered before he kissed and sucked at Hyungwon’s neck.

“And we had just gotten cleaned up,” Hyungwon said. 

Minhyuk laughed as he moved up to kiss Hyungwon, and Hyungwon’s hands went up to tangle in Minhyuk's overly long hair. 

These were some of the best kisses to Minhyuk. Sometimes when they kissed, the kiss had a destination. This kiss wasn't like that. It wasn't a journey. They weren't trying to get anywhere. They laughed softly into each other's mouths but refused to separate. 

Everything lingered. Hyungwon’s teeth wouldn't bite, they would  _ pull  _ against Minhyuk's bottom lip. Minhyuk would mouth delicately against his Cupid's bow, revel in the softness he found there. 

Hyungwon would press his fingertips against Minhyuk's scalp, but he wouldn't pull. He wouldn't urge. 

Time stopped for them, for these kisses. The fire crackled next to them, and the blanket bunched beneath them, but nothing else in the world existed for them except each other. 

Maybe it was because that moment felt holy. Kissing as a form of worship. Lips moving against each other in an unspoken, but not silent, prayer. 

Behind closed eyelids, Minhyuk saw visions of blood soaking into stone, and memories of a dream about big brown eyes. 

And, certainly, the gods would never be so unfair. 

Minhyuk knew he shouldn't have faith in unnamed and forgotten gods, but they were the only gods he could have faith in. They were, after all, the ones that brought him to Hyungwon. 

He shivered, a cold wind making its way down from the vent for the fire, and he made up his mind. He kissed Hyungwon’s lips as gently as he could, trying to fold all the love he felt for him in the tiny little touch. 

And in one motion, ripped off Hyungwon’s blind fold and opened his eyes. 

Everything happened at once then. 

A gasp and Hyungwon’s eyes widened then shut tight as he lunged forward, burying his face in Minhyuk's shoulder to hide. A sob came next as Hyungwon shook. Trembled harder than Minhyuk had ever felt. 

And Minhyuk was frozen, but not stone. He was frozen because he had seen them. Truly seen them. He had looked Hyungwon in the eyes, and stars were bursting inside of him. It took a moment for him to realize that Hyungwon was whispering against him. 

“No, no, no, Minhyuk, why.”

Minhyuk moved to kiss at the top of Hyungwon’s head, moved his hand to cradle the back of it. 

“Hyungwon, it's okay. I'm okay,” Minhyuk said. 

Hyungwon froze. Then he shoved Minhyuk off of him and covered up his eyes with his hands. 

“Why would you do that! You're lucky you didn't...I could've killed you,” Hyungwon said.

Minhyuk came close again and kissed the back of Hyungwon's hands. 

“I saw you, Hyungwon. I saw you, and I'm still here. I'm fine,” Minhyuk said. 

“Obviously, you didn't see anything because you're fine,” Hyungwon spat back. 

Minhyuk frowned before he pulled Hyungwon's hands away from his face to find him shutting his eyes as tight as he possibly could. 

“Open your eyes, love,” Minhyuk said. 

“I won't.”

“You saw me, too. You know you did. You know you caught a glimpse.”

Hyungwon’s lips trembled. “It had to be a fluke.”

Minhyuk leaned in and kissed his eyelids gently. “You've never had a fluke before. Why would it start now?”

“I can't risk it, Minhyuk,” Hyungwon whispered. 

“I know. That's why I risked it for both of us. It worked. You know it did.”

Hyungwon shook his head slightly, eyes still glued shut. Minhyuk knocked their foreheads together. 

“Let me see you again,” he said. 

“What if you turn to stone? What if I look at you and then you're gone?”

Minhyuk kissed Hyungwon’s cheek. Gentle. Like he was coaxing an animal out of its home. 

“You just have to have faith that I won't.”

“Faith in what, Minhyuk?”

Minhyuk paused to push Hyungwon’s bangs up out of his eyes. 

“In me,” he answered softly. 

Hyungwon was still trembling, but he seemed to straighten up some. 

“I love you, Minhyuk,” Hyungwon said. 

Minhyuk smiled. “I love you, too.”

Hyungwon took one last breath and held it before he opened his eyes slowly and looked at Minhyuk. 

Minhyuk smiled wider. “Reflections really don't compare.”

Hyungwon laughed, but tears were starting to fall down his face. He reached up to grab Minhyuk's face and squeeze it, feel it like he didn't believe it was real. 

“It's okay. You're okay,” Hyungwon said. 

“Come here.” Minhyuk pulled Hyungwon closer until Hyungwon was in his lap, arms and legs wrapped around him, eyes still locked. 

“How?” Hyungwon asked. His eyes kept searching everywhere on Minhyuk's face, but they lingered over his eyes every time they would pass over them. 

Minhyuk hummed and held him close. “I have a few ideas. All of them boil down to the gods not being as cruel as we believed.”

Hyungwon wiped at his face before he just held Minhyuk, burying his face in his shoulder. 

Minhyuk let him cry, let him have all his emotions. He just held him and kissed whatever parts of him he could reach and smiled whenever Hyungwon peeked up at him with his beautiful brown eyes. 

It was only later when Minhyuk should have felt hungry but didn't, when the cold didn't make him shiver, when the heat of the fire didn't make him sweat that they had realized what had happened. 

“These gods take away with the same hand that they use to give,” Hyungwon said, a frown pulling all his features downward. 

Minhyuk laughed a bit. “What makes you say that?”

“They punished me a long time ago. I've learned to live with it. But you don't deserve this. You've done nothing wrong.”

“You think this is a punishment?”

Hyungwon sighed and took a moment before he looked at Minhyuk. He still wasn't used to no longer holding back the urge. 

“You could have left if someone else came. Taken their horse and gone back or gone somewhere new.”

“Why would I have ever left you?”

Hyungwon pouted, and Minhyuk smiled before he moved closer again to kiss his pushed out bottom lip.

“It's morbid here. All the statues.”

“Your garden of marble?”

Hyungwon huffed, but he tilted toward toward Minhyuk, pressing their foreheads together. 

“You can’t take this back. You won't be able to look at anyone ever again without them turning to stone,” Hyungwon said. 

“You don't know that. Maybe that part of this is over now.”

“I doubt it. Why now? What would have changed?”

Minhyuk sighed and pointed over to the mirror. Hyungwon’s eyes followed the line of his arm over to it. 

They were sitting in front of each other, Hyungwon leaned back against the wall. 

“Tell me what you see,” Minhyuk said. 

Hyungwon rolled his eyes and looked back at Minhyuk. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“What do you see?” Minhyuk asked. 

Hyungwon licked his lips and looked back over to the mirror. 

“Us,” he said simply. 

“Hm. I need more than that.”

“What more is there? There's you and me. Looking into a mirror we don't have to use anymore.”

“And what are we?”

Hyungwon scoffed and looked at Minhyuk. “What are we?”

“Yes.”

“Lovers?” Hyungwon said. Minhyuk smiled. 

“Is that all?”

“What else would we be?”

“If I had asked you before, you would have said a man and a monster.”

Hyungwon just stared at him for a moment. 

“What are you getting at?” he asked softly. 

“Maybe it's not a punishment anymore because you've decided to stop punishing yourself. Maybe when you decided that you didn't want to be alone anymore, the gods took away the thing that forced you to be alone,” Minhyuk said. 

Hyungwon smiled a bit and leaned in to kiss Minhyuk. “Maybe it’s true love's kiss like in all the fairy tales.”

Minhyuk laughed a bit. “And maybe they wanted to apologize for the years of loneliness by guaranteeing that your lover will always be by your side.”

“Hush. Be still,” Hyungwon said. He reached up to brush Minhyuk’s hair back out of his face. He stared right into Minhyuk's eyes and smiled. 

Nothing ached anymore, but Minhyuk still felt a tug pull him forward, pull him toward Hyungwon. 

Cruelty may have driven them to the same place, but there was none left. Their touches and kisses were gentle and loving and caring, and it soothed whatever long forgotten pain lingered inside of them. 

Minhyuk had been sent to a temple with stone bodies strewn about, one dagger and the clothes on his back his only protection from the death that made its home there. Instead, he found that death was love, and the temple a garden full of marble would-be heroes that were fighting a monster that didn't exist. 

And he could have lived his life only staring at reflections and covered eyes, but as he stared at Hyungwon's smiling and laughing face, noticed the way the corners of his eyes would crinkle when he did, he was never happier to know that he could look love in the face and not fear death at all. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please leave kudos and comments if you enjoyed it!  
S/O to [taelights](https://archiveofourown.org/users/taelights/pseuds/taelights) for helping me.  
Hit me up:   
[cc](https://curiouscat.me/yikeslike)  
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